Love but Forgiveness
by kassidanae
Summary: Takes place after Ron comes back in Deathly Hallows; Hermione's deciding whether to forgive Ron or not.


Who went to the premier Thursday night? I did! It was so amazing. But I had to plug my ears in the Malfoy Manner scene. Hermione's screaming was soooooooooo heartbreaking. And when Ron left! Epic. But it was STILL AMAZING. And as soon as I got home I started this. And then slept for three hours. And then went to school the next morning. :P But HARRY POTTER is worth it. ;)

* * *

"There is no love without forgiveness, and there is no forgiveness without love."

* * *

Hermione rolled over in the bottom bunk, desperately trying to sleep under three of the five blankets they owned. Ron, who had returned to their little 'camping trip' the previous week, was in the bunk above her. Hermione was still pissed at him. But… she was _cold_ too. Really cold, like freezing cold.

Her body really didn't like the cold. Every winter when it started getting relatively cold her hands, feet, and face were never warm and always a slight shade of pink, even if it was warm where she was. Which it wasn't, considering they were in a tent with the flap open; the wind was finding its way to Hermione's bed. So Hermione was considering her options.

She could lay here, frozen, and continue being angry at Ron … For breaking her heart… For leaving her… And she was mad at herself, too. Maybe if she should have been a better friend to him. Maybe she should have comforted him more about leaving his family. Maybe she shouldn't have let him wear the locket so long… Maybe… But damn it, _he_ left _her_!

Or she could suck up her pride. Forgive him. She could call him down to her bunk and talk to him. She had refused to speak to him since she came back unless she was switching shifts with him or yelling at him. But he was a Weasley. Which meant he was _warm_. Forgiving wasn't easy, but maybe that's what she had to do. But she wanted to understand _why_ he did it before she forgave him.

"R-r-ron?" Hermione said, obviously shivering.

"Yeah?" he asked, clearly not asleep either.

Hermione bit her lower lip. "W-would you d-do me a f-favor?"

"Yeah, of course." Ron said quickly. "Anything. What do you need?"

Hermione was drawing circles on her pillow. "C-c-could you come h-here?" Ron replied by jumping off his bunk and sitting on the ground beside her bed. Hermione shook her head. "N-no. C-come h-here." She stuttered now from cold _and_ embarrassment. Asking the person you supposedly 'hate' to get into your bed with you was extremely awkward.

"You mean in there with you?" Ron asked, blushing deep red. Hermione nodded. Ron took a deep breath. "Yeah, of course. Are you cold?" Hermione nodded. "M'kay. Move over." Hermione did and Ron crawled in next to her.

Ron wrapped his arms around her, willing her to think it was to make her warm when to him it was entirely something else. He put his face against her hair and muttered, "M'sorry."

Hermione tried choke back a sob unsuccessfully, quickly cast the _muffliato_ charm, and said, "I know. Why did you leave?"

"The locket." Ron said simply. Hermione turned around so she was facing him; he was still holding her. "It affected me worse than it did you two. You got irritable… But it… It told me things."

"And you believed it?" Hermione rolled her eyes incredulously.

"It wasn't just the locket." Ron admitted. "I had already been thinking the things it told me. It just made it worse."

"But you knew it was You-Know-Who, Ron." Hermione replied.

"You don't understand!" he exclaimed. "It wasn't him. It was me! I had been thinking it for weeks; years, actually. And you just… You and Harry proved to me, in my mind, that I was right!"

"Heavens sake, we proved what, exactly!" Hermione asked in reply.

"That… That you and Harry… That you liked him as more than a friend." Ron eventually spit out.

Hermione stared at him for a moment. "Oh." She said breathlessly.

Ron got out of the bed they were sharing. "Never mind. I knew I was right, and you've proved it to me once again. Good night, Hermione." He groaned and started climbing back on his bunk. They were both laying there, tears in their eyes, for five minutes before Hermione got out of her now cold bed stood up to be eye level with Ron.

"You're wrong." She said.

"Yes, I always am, aren't I?" Ron said irritably.

Hermione looked at him for a moment, trying not to start crying again. "No. But you are this time. Harry and I _are_ just friends. He's like my brother. Harry to me is like you to Ginny. Honestly Ron, you have to believe me." Hermione begged.

"Ginny and I don't act like you two do." Ron replied.

"Actually, you guys do. You have inside jokes and you tease each other and laugh together and tell each other everything… Harry and I are both only children and have never had siblings, unless you want to count D-dudley. We don't know what it's like to h-ha-ave a sibling, and it's something we've both cr-r-raved our whole lives. And Harry sees you as his b-brother, too; just l-l-like Gi-inny's the sister I never ha-a-ad." Hermione explained. She was starting to feel really cold again.

"So where does that leave us?" Ron asked.

Hermione blushed. "I… I d-don't know. I m-m-mean I kn-now how I f-feel about you, I ju-u-ust don't know how y-y-you feel in re-e-eturn." She was really cold by now; the sounds of her teeth chattering were hard to ignore.

Ron jumped off his bunk and pulled her into hers with him, covering her in blankets and wrapping his arms around her once more. He buried his face in her hair. "This is how I feel ." He muttered almost inaudibly and kissed her on the cheek.

Hermione felt her cheeks go warm, which was a nice change from the cold. "Me t-too." They were silent for a few minutes before Hermione spoke up again. "And I forgive you."

It only took a few minutes for the two to fall asleep. When Harry came in to trade shifts he ignored the fact that they were acting like a couple and then and woke Ron up for his watch shift. None of the three spoke of what happened until the war was over, but Ron and Hermione always knew.

* * *

"To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. "


End file.
